Paul Mergenhagen, of Real Fake Buildings of Atlanta, works on an addition to Lawrence Free Methodist Church, 3001 Lawrence Ave. Different-themed rooms were built for the church's youths. Lawrence Free Methodist is among several Lawrence churches undergoing renovations this year.

Topeka ? Weeks after their 30,000-square-foot children’s and youth wing was completed, the youngsters at Lawrence Free Methodist Church are still having a ball.

“We’re using it, and there has been a great response to it,” said Bill Bump, senior pastor at the church, 3001 Lawrence Ave. “The finished product we’re really pleased with, and the kids are really enjoying it.”

The wing, which cost around $2.3 million and was completed in February, features bright colors, different themes in each age-appropriate room and an overall goal of discovery.

Children ages 4 to 5 enter their jungle-themed room through a tree and leave through a cave. Kids in kindergarten through second grade play under the sea in their room, which features a shipwreck and a coral reef. Grades three through six enjoy a galaxy theme, complete with moon rocks and a lunar module.

Junior high and high school youths get the run of the basement floor, where they have a game room, kitchen and their own lounge area.

The top floor has been finished, but it is not in use currently by the church. Instead, it is being rented to a ballet and gymnastics group until the church makes plans for it.

“It’s kind of been built-out, but we’re going to wait and see what our greatest need is before we really decide how we’re going to use it in a more permanent way,” Bump said. “The walls have been finished out and a bathroom put in. And so it’s now basically determining how we’re going to use it, but that determination has not been made yet.”

As for other projects, Bump said, “If our growth continues, the next thing we’d be looking at is more parking somehow.”

The Lawrence Free Methodist project is one of several building projects in the works at faith organizations in Lawrence.

Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 6001 Bob Billings Parkway, is also adding amenities for its youths – the children of the Corpus Christi Catholic School. B.A. Green Construction Co. began work in November on a $3.6 million complex that includes a new gymnasium, kitchen and cafeteria west of the main building of the church.

Renovation and repair

The St. Luke African Methodist Episcopal Church is close to securing enough funds to begin renovation on the church’s 1910 building at 900 N.Y., said its pastor, the Rev. Verdell Taylor.

Taylor said the church applied for $90,000 in funds from the Kansas State Historical Society’s Heritage Trust Fund and that the church should hear back about the money in the late spring. Taylor said that when added to other grants and moneys the church has collected, that $90,000 would give the St. Luke enough funds – around $240,000 – to begin a project of stabilizing the church’s fragile building.

“Get the building stable, the roof stable, everything stabilized because we don’t want the church to fall – that’s why we’re so hopeful that we’ll get the money from the Heritage Trust Fund to go with what we have,” Taylor said. “After the stabilization, we’ve got to do the brick on the outside. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Taylor said that the Heritage Trust Fund gave the church a $20,000 grant to do a feasibility study on what a total restoration would cost for the church. The study concluded that $2.4 million would be needed to restore the structure. Taylor said that the church is “scaling way back” and focusing on the structure and improving air circulation inside before working on anything too cosmetic.

Taylor said St. Luke hopes to begin getting construction bids for the stabilization project in the fall. He said the church hopes to begin work in late 2008 or early 2009.

Two other churches both say they are still planning to move in the future.

Eileen Stulak, spiritual leader at Unity Church of Lawrence, 900 Madeline Lane, said that although its search is on hold, the church still plans to find another, bigger place to worship.

“When the prior minister, Reverend Darlene Strickland, announced her departure, the board of trustees agreed to place the search for a new and larger campus on hold,” Stulak said. “This is a temporary decision in order that the church can devote its time and energy to hiring the next permanent ministerial leader. Once that is done, it is my understanding that the process of finding the next campus will begin once again.”

First Christian Church also has confirmed it is considering moving to a new place to worship, as its building at 1000 Ky. no longer meets the church’s needs. No timetable has been set for that potential move.